The Festival of Turnabout
by omgfire1234
Summary: *EXTREME SoJ SPOILERS* Ta'lentahn is a Khura'inese holiday in which people put on performances in front the royal family in order to celebrate the wedding anniversary of the Holy Mother and her husband. Now, Phoenix and his crew are reuniting with Apollo and going to come up with their own performances. But with a new royal family in charge, will it all go according to plan?
1. A Trip to Khura'in

It was March 13, 2029.

It was hard to believe that it had been 10 months since Apollo had made the decision to stay in Khura'in to help fix its legal system. Phoenix missed him. Athena missed him. Trucy sure as hell missed him. Even Maya missed him. But they were soon about to see him again.

March 21 was a special Khura'inese holiday known as Ta'lentahn. It was meant to celebrate the wedding anniversary of the Holy Mother and her husband, Ta'len Tcho Khura'in. According to legend, Ta'len and his close friend Putani were a pair of extremely talented entertainers, who were able to woo the Holy Mother and Lady Kee'ra with their variety of spectacular performances, which included singing, playing instruments, dancing, and acting. When they began to see each other more and more, Ta'len supposedly used his performances to rescue the Holy Mother after she was possessed by a demonic spirit, after which he was declared more than worthy to receive her hand in marriage.

After that, it became a tradition for the people to come up with performances ideas and perform in front of an audience while the royal family acted as judges. Originally, each performance was meant to be done by a male and female in a relationship with each other. However, as time progressed, this rule became less and less strict. Now, any pair of people was permitted to perform. Sometimes, individuals or groups of 3 performed. The performances were televised internationally.

Phoenix had known about this holiday even before he visited Khura'in. It was important for the Kurain villagers to watch the performances, and Maya and Pearl would invite him to watch with them. Sometimes performances were awe-inspiring, and other times they were cringe inducing, but one constant that Phoenix remembered was the fervent excitement of the audience and the village. Apparently though, Ga'ran was deeply uninterested, while Inga enjoyed mocking the mistakes that some performers made.

Trucy desperately wanted to perform with both Athena and Apollo. It had been so long since she last saw Apollo, and she was determined to show off to him the magic tricks she had done with, or rather, done _on_ Athena. She was excited to do tricks involving 3 people rather than 2, as she rarely had the chance to do so. Twice the victims, twice the fun, at least for her.

She also really wanted Phoenix and Maya to perform together, so they could "display their love for one another in front of the rest of the world".

Edgeworth and Ema were already in Khura'in to practice their performances. Edgeworth had told them: "Normally, I would have refused to participate in the performances. However, my outrage at that sham of a television show has compelled me to arrange a performance with Mr. Are'bal". On the other hand, Ema was excited to perform. She had brainstormed for days on how to show off her scientific prowess to the masses. Athena suggested that she also wanted another chance chance to impress Nahyuta with her skills, but Ema denied "such a preposterous proposition".

Athena begged Blackquill to join them, but he refused. He told her he would rather watch her "fail in spectacular fashion" from the comfort of his own home. She also asked Juniper, but she was so busy that not even the temptation of Apollo could get her to come. In the end, she had no choice but to join Trucy and Apollo in their endeavors.

Now, they were all on the airplane headed to Khura'in. There was no going back now.

"What are you going to be doing, Daddy?" Trucy asked.

"I don't know yet, Trucy. I'm still not sure if I really want to perform in front of so many people," Phoenix replied.

"Come on Nick, we have to!" Maya said.

"Yeah, Daddy, you have to. Ooh, I know! You should write a song about how much you two love each other. You can even play it on the piano. Here I'll help you get started with the lyrics."

"No, Trucy. I'm pretty sure singing a love song is the last thing I'd want to be doing. Besides, I thought you said I sucked at the piano!"

"Y'know, boss, you two could also re-enact Dhurke and Amara's married life. After all, you are a defense attorney just like Dhurke. And Maya, you're a spirit medium just like Her Mercifulness!" Athena suggested.

"But we aren't married! We're not even dating!" Maya responded.

"It's just a re-enactment!"

"How about we worry about our performance and you worry about yours?" Phoenix asked.

"Fine," Athena said, followed by a long sigh.

After a short period of silence, Trucy said, "I wonder how Polly is doing right now."


	2. A Royal Nightmare

_This is my first story, so please feel free to leave a review with suggestions on how to improve._

 _A big thank you to **SkyiesTheLimit** for helping to proofread this._

* * *

Rayfa woke up from her slumber feeling hungry. Very, very hungry. The emptiness in her stomach was a major problem that needed to be remedied.

"Mother, what are we going to be having for breakfast."

No response.

"Mother?"

"Oh my, how quickly you've moved on to a new mother."

 _That voice. No, it can't be. She should be in prison. I personally testified against her at her trial. Did she escape somehow? Do I dare ask?_

"Ga'ran? What are you doing here? How did you escape from prison?" Rayfa angrily demanded.

"Were you really foolish enough to think that you could somehow erase me from your life, Your Benevolence?"

Rayfa was speechless. She was unprepared to deal with this situation.

"Pitiful little girl. I shall have dominion over you for the rest of your life. You will rule the kingdom just like I have."

"No I won't!" Rayfa announced. "This kingdom has endured far too much under your tyranny. The high priest and his wife, Mr. Are'bal, my true mother Amara and my true father Dhurke, Braid Head...they've all suffered so much because of you!"

"Ho ho ho. Is that what you think, Your Benevolence? I'm afraid you're mistaken." Ga'ran coldly replied.

"How so?" Rayfa asked.

"The one who caused all their suffering...WAS YOU!"

"What? No, that can't be true."

"But it is. Why, look at Her Mercifulness right over there."

Rayfa looked to where her aunt pointed. To her horror, it was indeed Queen Amara. However, something was not right. She looked ill, emaciated, and in deep pain.

"Rayfa..." Amara cried out. "How could you let this happen to me?"

"No. No no no. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Rayfa. Rayfa!"

Rayfa woke up, this time for real. Amara was right beside her bed.

"Rayfa, are you alright? You've been having these nightmares for a while."

"I'm quite alright, mother. Or as Horn Head would say, 'I'm fine!''

"Rayfa, be honest with me. Are your regal duties getting too stressful? Are you worried how you might perform on Ta'lentahn?"

It was custom for the royal couple to show off their performance after everyone else had performed. Since Rayfa was not in a couple, she would be performing with Nahyuta, who was now once again a member of the royal family.

"I suppose so. Mother, I have just one question to ask."

"What is it, my dear?"

"Why was your sister so intent on seeing us suffer? Did she truly loathe us that much?"

Amara felt her stomach drop. She felt a great deal of responsibility for Ga'ran's actions. Her sister had taken advantage of her love and used it to make her family suffer. To make it up to her late husband and children, Amara had joined Nahyuta and Rayfa in testifying against her sister. It pained her personally, but it was necessary for Ga'ran to be punished to the fullest extent of the law. Still, they offered to have Apollo serve as the defense, an offer that Ga'ran stubbornly refused.

"It's all my fault, isn't it?, "Rayfa said. "If I hadn't been placed in jeopardy, you and Braid Head could have helped Father to stop her. For the good of Khura'in, you should have just left me to endure whatever fate I was to suffer. I still can't even channel spirits! I really am bound to end up like her."

"Do not speak like that, Rayfa! You are a fine ruler, and you will continue to be one."

"But how will I be able to govern like you and not like her?"

"Do not attempt to govern like other people. Govern the way you believe this kingdom should be governed. If you believe in the people and believe in yourself, then they are sure to believe in you too."

Rayfa had received similar advice in the past from Barbed Head, Miss Fey, and her good friend Horn Head. Still, it was nice for her to get a receive a reminder every once in a while.

She had already done a significant amount as queen. She had abolished the Defense Culpability Act and declared that it shall never be implemented again. She had Amara's Tomb transformed into Dhurke's Tomb to honor his courage and determination in the face of adversity, and made it open to the public. The royal family, as well as Apollo, Datz, and Beh'leeb, visited it frequently. The paintings that once depicted him as a devil now showed him as a valiant hero standing up to an evil arachnid. She also made Dhurke Day a national holiday, and had the Plumed Punisher put back on air: this time with Ga'ran and not Dhurke as the villain. Whenever Amara channeled Dhurke though, she would become flustered and address him as "Dragon Head". Still, he told her that she was doing a good job restoring fairness to the kingdom's legal system, and was happy to call her his daughter.

"I suppose you're right, Mother."

"Come now, let us go eat our breakfast. We are having pahn'kikus."

"Yes, let's. I am starving! If only you hadn't spent so much time talking, ya ol' nincompoop!" Rayfa joked.

Rayfa still had doubts in her mind. However, she couldn't allow Barbed Head and Miss Fey to see her like this upon their return. Before their arrival, she was going to come with Braid Head so they could visit Horn Head, Ahlbi, and Mr. Are'bal at Justice Law Offices. Perhaps talking with them would help ease some of her anxieties.


End file.
